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Portugal: unitary general strike of Wednesday November 24th qualified of the “biggest ever”
Numbers.  Unions said about 3 million people adhered to the paralysis of Wednesday, November 24th, out of 5.5 million active people.  With this number, they declared that the strike was a perfect...
Germany: BASF grants job security to 33,000 employees until 2015
Social partnership at the heart of modernization.  After Siemens, which offered its German employees employment guarantee tacitly renewable, now BASF is giving 5 years of job security (January 1...
Romania: slight minimum wage increase
After months bargaining, the Romanian government finally increased minimum wage, from RON 600 to 670 (approximately EUR 143 to 160). This is more than the IMF recommended but less than what...
Italy: unitary agreement for the renewal of the national collective agreement in ceramics
After five months bargaining, ceramics unions, who presented three separate platforms, reached a unitary agreement for the renewal of the sector’s CCN, which expired on June 30th.  Valid from July...
Netherlands: “inspiration book” on everyday ecology on workplaces
The inspiration book (“inspiratieboek”) for “sustainable work” published by the FNV in mid-November is presented under the form of a small treaty on ecology at work. It is the result ff a...
24 November 2010
Germany: IG-Metall wants to “strike at” the renewable energy sector
Businesses locked on the issue of collective agreements.  The warning strikes organized these past few days by the 180 employees of Solibro, subsidiary of Q-Cells, one of the world leaders in the...
United States: two-tier wage scales gain traction
Harley Davidson.  Harley Davidson’s management organized the first round of negotiations.  Motorbikes sales, for $35,000 (about €26,000) a piece, slowed down during the recession the market is 40%...
24 November 2010
Great Britain: government in favor of managed immigration
Cap.  The UK’s conservative-liberal government agreed to introduce a figured immigration target.  With this new strategy, the UK is turning to “managed” or “select” immigration. On November 23rd...
Italy: Agenquadri general executives’ association renews CGIL affiliation pact
“The union needs project managers and executives, and project managers and executives need the union.”  It is with this slogan that the CGIL and Agenquadri, the general association of project...
EU: target of 40% of women on company boards by 2020
Voluntary measures.  Currently, there are only 10% of women on the boards of the largest publicly listed companies in the EU.  Besides, they only account for 3% of the presidents of the board. ...
Great Britain: Tesco chain stores introduce overtime booking system
With some 340,000 staff in employed in its 2,500 stores, Tesco is the biggest private sector in Britain and has in effect created its own form of an internal labour market. Thus, its frontline...
23 November 2010
Great Britain: Len McCluskey becomes the new general secretary of the biggest union in Britain, Unite
This represents a decisive victory for the left, albeit a divided left, for the total left vote was 153,000 votes (McCluskey plus Hicks) while the combined rightwing and centre-left vote was...
Netherlands: employees are highly satisfied
This number will surely make people jealous across Europe: no less than 78% of Dutch people say they are happy with their current job, and 65% of them say they “keep an eye out” for job offers in...
22 November 2010
Italy: pharmaceutical-chemistry social partners reach national agreement on CSR guidelines
Federchimica and Farmindustria for employers and Filctem-CGIL, Femca-Cisl and Uilcem-Uil for unions (which signed the CCN in pharmaceutical-chemistry) signed, on November 18th in Milan, within the...
22 November 2010
International: auto unions adopt a resolution on collective bargaining
Soaring precariousness. Delegates from 13 countries met earlier this month to discuss the situation of auto workers.  In a resolution, they point to the worsening working conditions in the sector...
22 November 2010
Germany: renowned economists and research institutes belie the theory of a striking lack of skilled workers
A censored study?  Are German businesses facing a penalizing shortage in skilled workers or not?  Since this summer, businesses, employers’ organizations and some economists (see our dispatch No...
19 November 2010
Most viewed articles of the month on mind HR
What readers clicked on the most last month.
What readers clicked on the most last month.
1
Spain: government seeks to strengthen protection for employee whistleblowers
On 28 July, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved a draft bill aimed at providing legal protection to employees who report corruption or breaches of labour law, shielding them from potential...
27 August 2026
2
France: Cabinet adopts pay transparency bill
After several months of delay beyond the European deadline of 7 June 2026, French Labour Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou finally presented the bill transposing the Pay Transparency Directive to the...
10 September 2026
3
Germany: IG Metall demands 5% pay rise amid severe pressure
Despite the crisis hitting the automotive industry, the leadership of the German trade union IG Metall announced on Wednesday 23 September that it would be asking for a 5% pay increase as well as...
23 September 2026
4
Italy: Crédit Agricole introduces a handbook on managerial behaviour
The document adopted in mid-July by Crédit Agricole Italia and the main banking trade unions goes beyond the proper use of meetings and emails. This six-point handbook aims to foster constructive...
3 September 2026
5
Spain: government revisits its draft decree on salary transparency
The Spanish Ministry of Labour has opened a consultation on the transposition of the European directive on salary transparency and the reduction of the gender pay gap. This decision follows a...
8 September 2026
6
Slovakia: 6% increase in the minimum wage from 1 January 2027
The news. As Slovakia’s social partners failed to reach an agreement during tripartite negotiations, Labour Minister Erik Tomas has decided to increase the minimum wage by 6% from 1 January...
1 September 2026